This invention relates generally to an electronic tracking and containment system for, but not limited to, animals and more specifically to an improved electronic containment system using positional satellites such as the GPS (Global Positioning System) in conjunction with a portable programming transceiver, a programmable collar transceiver, and a remotely located control station.
Conventional electronic animal containment systems have a subterranean transmission antenna shaped to define fixed boundaries of a confinement area. The transmission antenna transmits a unique electromagnetic signal which is received by a collar transceiver having a radio frequency receiver. The collar transceiver is typically attached to the neck of an animal and is used to stimulate that animal to, among other things, encourage or discourage certain behavior such as movement.
Electronic animal containment systems that can be installed with minimal disruption of the landscape and readily reconfigured to redefine the confinement area are in great demand. In the current practice, the installation of a subterranean transmission antenna requires excavation of the confinement area boundary which can entail disruption of plant root systems, damaging surrounding grass, flower beds and the like. Additionally, the installation may be hindered by obstacles such as trees, concrete walkways, and driveways.
Beyond installation difficulties, the fixed location of the subterranean transmission antenna inhibits future alteration of the confinement area. Redefinition of the confinement area is advantageous as confinement needs change with, for example, the introduction of new animals or changes to the landscape. Moreover, at present, electronic animal containment systems are generally permanent to the location on the property in which the antenna is installed. This permanency denies its availability for use when traveling and can necessitate the purchase of an additional system upon relocation given the impracticality of excavating and salvaging an installed system.
Consequently, satellite global positioning systems which can be used to dynamically define a confinement area and also track animals are desirable for use in animal containment systems. An animal containment system based on the GPS obviates the need for the fixed subterranean antenna and eliminates the aforementioned disadvantages of the buried antenna.
The present invention provides a satellite animal containment system that is not constrained to fixed confinement boundaries. The system provides a portable programming transceiver, or alternately a collar transceiver, each in communication with the global positioning system (GPS) for the purpose of programming one or more alterable confinement boundaries. The system may be used to program an outer perimeter boundary, such as around a yard, as well as internal exclusion zones, such as around gardens or swimming pools.
In a preferred embodiment, a portable programming transceiver receives a GPS signal representative of the transceiver""s coordinates and transmits these coordinates to a remotely located control station. These coordinates are used by the control station to define a point on the boundary of a confinement area. The portable programming transceiver is moved along the perimeter of the confinement area and continually transmits additional coordinates to the control station thus contiguously defining the boundary of the confinement area. By this method the boundary is represented by any closed curve, often a simple closed curve, in addition to conventional rectilinear shapes. The area outside the boundary is designated as an exclusion area and the area within the boundary is designated as a permissible area, i.e. the confinement area. Optionally, additional boundaries may be defined within the established confinement area to create the inside exclusion zones through selected use of the portable programming transceiver. Further, a collar transceiver, attached to an animal, receives a separate GPS signal representative of the collar transceiver""s coordinates. These coordinates are transmitted to the control station where they are compared to the definition of the confinement area. When the collar transceiver""s location is a determined to be too close to any boundary associated with the confinement area, a signal is transmitted by the control station to the collar transceiver which activates a stimulus generator, located in the collar transceiver, to correct the animal. The stimulus may be applied based on additional factors such as animal velocity toward a boundary as well as proximity to the boundary. Accordingly, the application of a stimulus may not be exclusively dependent on relative animal position to a boundary alone. For example, an animal that is asleep, or otherwise not moving, at a location within three feet of a boundary may not require any stimulus at all, whereas an animal moving at a rapid rate of speed toward the boundary at a location within three feet of the boundary may require an immediate stimulus to deter further movement toward the boundary.
In an alternate embodiment, the portable collar transceiver, prior to being attached to the animal, may be used in a programming mode, instead of using a separate programmable transceiver, to define the boundary of a confinement area in a manner similar to that of the portable programming transceiver. That is, when operated in a boundary programming mode, the collar transceiver receives a GPS signal representative of the transceiver""s coordinates and transmits these coordinates to a remotely located control station. These coordinates are used by the control station to define a point on the boundary of the confinement area. The collar transceiver is moved along the perimeter of the confinement area, such as a yard, and continually transmits additional coordinates to the control station thus contiguously defining the boundary of the confinement area. By this method the boundary may be represented by any closed curve, often a simple closed curve, in addition to conventional rectilinear shapes. The area outside the boundary is designated as an exclusion area and the area within the boundary is designated as a permissible area, i.e. the confinement area. Optionally, additional inside boundaries may be defined within the established confinement area to create further inside exclusion zones, such as around a flower garden. The collar transceiver is then switched out of programming mode and into its operational mode. The collar is placed on the animal, where it functions in conjunction with the control station for the purpose of generating a stimulus when the animal approaches an exclusion area boundary.